A pair of businessmen have invested £500,000 to launch an events company staging a nostalgia-themed music festival.

Former circus ring master Malcolm Cannon and stage school owner Bradley Snelling set up Terraventas as a vehicle to run Retrofest.

The pair met at the inaugural event at Culzean Castle last year and hit it off straight away.

When the festival, organised by Snelling and bringing together top names from the 1980s music scene, proved to be a surprise hit the duo decided to go into business together to improve it. Now they hope to attract 20,000 people to this year's event in Strathclyde Country Park.

They have already secured acts such as Boy George, 10CC, Boney M and The Bangles for the two-day bash at the end of August.

It is estimated around £1 million will be brought into the North Lanarkshire economy by the festival.

Cannon, previously a commercial director for M&D's theme park, believes there is scope for further growth.

He said: "Bradley and I have channelled a lot of personal time and effort in to this new enterprise.

"I was hugely impressed by the success of Retrofest last year and with Bradley's vision for the festival.

"He is a born entertainer and we both have wide experience working in events and in the entertainment sector.

"Our partnership was a natural progression for both of us and is one which I believe will have a huge impact on the events industry.

"With the support of North Lanarkshire Council and our move to Strathclyde Country Park, Retrofest will certainly bring the area alive and bolster the local economy and tourism industry.

"We aim to put Central Scotland on the music festival map."

There are already plans to expand the successful Retrofest template to other countries and Terraventas is looking to take on the management of more events.

Cannon said: "We plan to take Retrofest on the road, tapping into the hugely popular '80s musical niche. As well as staging Retrofest in Northern Ireland in 2009, we want to expand overseas and stage a similar event in Germany in 2010.

"By the end of 2008 we hope to generate a turnover of £1m by managing more events and building on the success of Terraventas' sister company, Simply Sensational Tents, which specialises in the provision of giant Hat Kata tents, inspired by those used by the Sami people of Lap-land, for weddings, events and private functions.

"2008 is a really big year for us and we're looking forward to the challenge."

Retrofest 2007 was nominated for Best New Festival, Best Medium Sized Festival and Best Toilets at the UK Festival Awards.